Angola starts up first non-associated gas development

Angola’s president has inaugurated the New Gas Consortium (NGC) gas treatment plant at Soyo in Zaire province, northern Angola.

This is the country’s first offshore non-associated gas development, operated by Azule Energy on behalf of the NGC co-venturers. The processing capacity is around 400 MMcf/d of gas and 20,000 b/d of condensate.

Eni had started activity on the project before merging its Angolan upstream operations with bp’s to form Azule Energy.

The development involves production of gas to the offshore Quiluma and Maboqueiro field platforms, subsequently sent to the Soyo treatment facility and onward delivery to the nearby Angola LNG plant for domestic consumption and exports.

At peak, 1,200 Angolan staff were involved in fabrication of the Quiluma deck and jacket at the Ambriz yard.

The gas treatment plant entered the commissioning phase earlier this month, with the start of operations achieved six months ahead of the sanctioned schedule.

The New Gas Consortium comprises Azule Energy (37.4%), Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (CABGOC) (31%), Sonangol E&P (19.8%), and TotalEnergies (11.8%), with ANPG as the National Concessionaire.